Catch structure



Dec. 8, 1942. Q E. BORCHERS ,304,

CATCH STRUCTURE Filed Aug. 16; 1940 2 Sheet-Sh'eet 1 j'zweru or l VarZ florcizens Dec. 8, 1942. E, BQRCHERS 2,304,144

CATCH STRUCTURE Filed Aug. 16, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet? fizveru oi" Z'ZarZ Bore hens Patented Dec. 8, 1942 CATCH STRUCTURE Earl Borchers, Rockford, Ill., assignor to American Cabinet Hardware Corporation, Rockford, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application August 16, 1940, Serial No. 352,855

13 Claims.

The invention relates generally to catches and more particularly to a catch for sheet-metal cabinets.

The general object of the invention is to provide a novel catch structure for the door of a sheet-metal cabinet, which is inexpensive to manufacture, and which is so constructed that the catch structure or parts thereof may be readily assembled on the door after the door is painted or finished, thus permitting the parts to be finished or painted differently from the door, without involving the care required if the assembly had to be made before finishing the door.

It is also an important object to provide a catch structure for the door of a sheet-metal cabinet, having the portions of the catch structure which are visible on the outer face of the door, including the manual operator, of such construction that they do not extend any substantial distance beyond the plane of the door, thus giving a pleasing appearance and providing a construction which will not readily be marred by being bumped.

Another object is to provide a novel catch structure for the door of a sheet-metal cabinet, which effectively holds the door closed, which is a spring type catch thus automatically locking the door by pushing it closed, and which is of simple construction.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevational View of a portion of a sheet-metal cabinet provided with a catch structure embodying the features of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a rear elevational view of the catch structure.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the various parts of the catch structure disassembled.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the latch member and operator.

Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view of a modified form of catch structure.

Fig. 7 is a rear view of the catch structure shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a rear perspective view of the supporting member of the catch structure shown in Fig. 6 and illustrating such supporting member in condition ready for mounting in the door.

Fig, 9 is a rear view of the door showing the punching required for the catch structure shown in Fig 6.

In the manufacture of sheet-metal cabinets such as so-called utility cabinets used in homes, it is necessary because of competition to keep the cost of such cabinets as low as possible. Thus the hardware that is placed on such cabinets must be of very inexpensive construction. Moreover, elaborate precautions cannot be taken to protect the cabinets in shipping because of the expense involved, and manufacturers have resorted merely to placing a paper bag o er the cabinets to protect them during such shipment. Thus any hardware on the cabinet which projects any substantial distance beyond the sides of the cabinet tends to cause the shipping envelope to be torn and the hardware to be damaged. It is therefore desirable to have all hardware placed substantially flush with the walls of the cabinet.

Since such cabinets are usually spray painted, it is desirable to install the hardware, or at least parts thereof, after the cabinet itself has been painted so that contrasting colors or finishes may be used. It is also desirable, particularly in the case of the catch used on cabinet doors, to make such catch so that it can be applied to the cabinet with a minimum of labor expense and Without requiring any special tools.

A typical construction for a cabinet of this character includes a door II! of flat sheet metal having its edge bent inwardly to provide a stiffening flange I I and then a portion bent at a right angle as at I2. The door frame, indicated at I3, is correspondingly bent inwardly to provide a flange I 4 paralleling flange I l on the door. The inner edge of the flange I4 is bent at a right angle, as at I5, to fit around the portion I2 on the door, and then is reversely bent upon itself as at I 6 to form a stiif rigid frame structure. Thus the flange I4 and the portions I5 and is form a structure in which the door snugly fits so that its plane is substantially flush with the plane of the door frame.

A catch structure embodying the features of the invention comprises generally a supporting member adapted to .be secured to the door, a latch member pivotally mounted on the supporting member, and a handle or operator for the latch member. In the form of the device shown in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, the supporting member and the latch member are adapted to be secured to the door prior to the painting thereof, and after such painting, the manual operator may be assembled therewith. Thus such structure permits the manual operator to be of a different 7 color or finish from that of the rest of the structure. The manual operator is adapted to be secured to the other parts in a very simple manner so that it may be done either at the factory before shipment, or the cabinet manufacturer may ship the manual operator detached from the cabinet so that the dealer or user may make such attachment.

In the form shown in Figs. 6 to 9, inclusive, the cabinet is adapted to be painted before any part of the catch structure is mounted thereon. Thus the supporting member may have a finish different from that of the cabinet, and also differing from the finish or color of the manual operator. In this case the catch structure as a whole is adapted to be secured to the cabinet by a very simple operation.

In the catch structure shown in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, the supporting member comprises a fiat plate 20 adapted to be secured to the rear face of the door I0, preferably by spot welding it thereto. The plate 20 is provided with a central inwardly dished portion 2| formed at its periphery to provide an outwardly projecting bead 22 adapted to fit within an aperture in the door Ill.

The supporting plate 20 extends toward the edge of the door and adjacent said edge is provided with means for pivotally supporting a latch member for movement in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the door. In the preferred form the means for supporting the latch member comprises a lug 23 formed by cutting a slit in the plate 20 and bending a portion at right angles to the plane of the door.

The latch member, indicated generally at 24, comprises a hook 25 adapted to engage the folded flange l6 of the door frame, and a leg 26 extending toward the lug 23 and pivotally secured thereto as by a rivet 21. The latch member 24 also has a portion 30 of generally arcuate form extending through an elongated slot 3| in the dished portion 2| of the supporting member, and an operator or handle, indicated generally at 32, is secured to the front end of the latch member. The catch is of the spring operated type and for this purpose a torsion spring 33 is wrapped around the pivot 21 and has one arm bearing against the rear face of the supporting member 20. The other arm of the torsion spring fits within a notch provided by cutting a pair of slits in the leg 26 of the latch member and bending a lug 34 formed by the slits at an angle, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

One of the features of the construction herein disclosed is to provide a latch member which is firmly held in its locked position when the door is closed, and yet which will be readily moved to its unlocked position to pass the door frame as the door is pushed closed. To this end it is desirable to have the pivot 21 and the-latch member as close to the edge of the door as possible. Thus, as will be noted in Fig. 2, the pivot pin 21 is located closely adjacent to the angle formed by the front plane of the door and the rearwardly extending flange thereof. With this arrangement, the latch member tends to remain in its latched position when the door is closed since the point of contact of the hook portion 25 of the latch member is in line with the pivotal axis thereof so that there is no camming action tending to move the latch member to its unlocked position. When the door is moved toward the closed position and the latch member is thereby automatically retracted by contact with the door frame, passage of the latch member past the door frame is facilitated by virtue of the fact that the hook portion is provided with a receding edge 35 which engages the flange l5 of the door frame to the right of the pivot 21 so that the latch member is readily cammed toward its retracted position.

As mentioned above, one of the features of the invention is to provide a catch structure, the different parts of which may be readily painted or finished in different colors. In the present form,

since the supporting member 20 is secured to the door ID as by welding, this portion of the catch structure is painted at the same time the door is painted. However, it is desirable to have the handle 32 of a different color or finish and to this end the handle is made separate from the latch member 24 and may be readily attached thereto in a simple but permanent nianner.

As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the front end of the portion 39 of the latch member is made in the form of an offset tongue 35. The portion 30 is also punched as at 36 to provide a lug 31 which is initially bent at right angles to the latch member. The handle 32 in its preferred form comprises a backing plate 40 having a disk shaped cover plate 4| secured thereto as by turning the edges of the latter over the backing plate. Secured to the backing plate 40 and extending rearwardly therefrom through the slot 3| is an arcuate attaching member or shank 42 adapted to be secured in face to face relation with the portion 30 of the latch member. The shank 42 is offset as at 43, and at the offset is provided with an aperture 44 through which the tongue 35 is inserted. The shank 42 at its rear end is provided with a notch 45 within which the lug 31 fits. Adjacent the notch 45 but spaced inwardly therefrom is a slot 46 into which the 111g 31 is bent.

From the foregoing, it will be noted that the attaching member 42 and the portion 30 of the latch member are thus rigidly secured together in face to face relation. It will also be noted that such attachment may be made after the supporting plate is mounted on the door, merely by inserting the attaching member through the slot 3| into proper relation with the portion 30 and then bending the lug 31 into place. Such bending may be readily accomplished merely by a pair of pliers. This makes it possible for the manufacturer of the cabinet to readily assemble the parts after the cabinet is painted, or it permits the handle 32 to be shipped detached from the cabinet so that the dealer or user may readily assemble it in place.

The latch member 24 is so dimensioned and the slot 3| in the inwardly dished portion of the supporting member is so placed as to locate the handle 32 eccentrically of the dished portion 2|. Thus to release the latch and pull the door open, the user merely inserts his fingers in the dished portion 2| underneath the handle 32 and pulls outwardly thereon so that such ,pull first releases the latch and then moves the door open. The handle 32 is also located substantially flush with the front face of the door. Thus there is nothing protruding beyond the face of the door to interfere with handling the cabinet in shipping or to become damaged by being struck.

The modified form shown in Figs. 6 to 9, inclusive, is constructed so that the catch structure as a whole may be secured to the door after the cabinet is painted. To this end the supporting member comprises an inwardly dished portion 50 having its periphery reversely turned to provide a bead The aperture in the door is of sufli-' cient diameter to receive the dished portion 51! but of less diameter than the head 5! so that the edge thereof abuts against the front face of the door, as shown at the righthand side of Fig. 6. The supporting member also has a portion extending through the door to support a latch member. In the present instance such portion comprises a lip 52 extending from the edge of the bead 5| through a notch 53 out in the margin of the aperture in the door. The lip 52 is bent to lie against the inner face of the door and to pivotally support the latch member. The margin of the aperture in the door is also provided with a pair of notches 5% generally opposite the notch 53 through which lugs 55 extend. from the bead 5i. After the supporting plate is put into position within the aperture of the door, these lugs 55 are bent against the inner face, thus holding the supporting plate rigidly in position on the door.

The latch member in the present instance is of generally the same form as shown in Figs. 1 to 5 and extends through a slot 59 out in the dished portion 50, but has the handle or operator, here indicated at 56, directly secured thereto. In assembling the latch member to the supporting member, a small lateral notch 5'! is cut in the dished portion to permit the passage therethrough of the lug on the latch member leg which supports the torsion spring. To limit the inward movement of the latch member; a small boss 58 is pressed laterally from the latch member so that it will engage the inwardly dished portion 50 to limit the inward movement of the latch member.

From the foregoing description of the construction shown in Figs. 6 to 9, inclusive, it will be noted that since the supporting member may be readily assembled on the door merely by inserting it into the aperture therein and bending over the lugs 55, the catch may be mounted on the door after the cabinet is painted. This also permits the handle, the supporting member, and the cabinet all to be of different colors or finishes.

I claim as my invention:

1. A catch structure of the character described comprising, in combination, a support comprising an inwardly dished portion adapted to fit in an aperture in the door, a flange portion extending toward the edge of the door and located on the inner face of the door, and a lug bent from and perpendicular to said flange portion, a latch member pivoted on said lug, and an operator for said latch member extending through an aperture in said dished portion.

2. A catch structure of the character described comprising, in combination, a plate adapted to be spot welded to the rear face of the door and having a central inwardly dished portion peripherally provided with a forwardly projecting bead adapted to fit within an aperture in the door, said plate having a portion extending toward the edge of the door, a latch member pivotally supported by said last mentioned portion, and an operator connected to said latch member.

3. A catch structure of the character described comprising, in combination, a supporting plate adapted to be secured to the rear face of he door, a latch member pivotally supported by said plate for movement in a plane perpendicular to the door, and including an arcuate portion, and an operator for said latch member having an arcuate portion in overlapping relation with the arcuate portion of the latch member, the end of each arcuate portion having means engaging the other to hold the two rigidly connected.

. 4. A catch structure of the character described comprising, in combination, a supporting plate adapted to be permanently secured to the rear face of the door and to be painted when the door is painted, a latch member pivotally mounted on said plate and extending therethrough to the front of the door, and an operator for said latch member adapted to be readily but permanently secured thereto after such painting, said operator and latch-member having overlapping strip portions with one of said portions provided with an end lug longitudinally inserted into an aperture in the other portion and a second lug bendable into a second aperture in said other portion. 5. A catch structure of the character described comprising, in combination, a supporting plate adapted to be permanently secured to the door, a latch member pivotally mounted on said plate, and an operator adapted to be rigidly connected to said latch member, said operator and latch member having flat strip portions in overlapping relation, one of said portions having a longitudinally extending slot spaced from its end and an aperture adjacent its end,- and the other portion having an ofiset lug on its end and a second lug spaced from its end whereby the two portions may be assembled by inserting the offset lug through said slot to overlie the first portion and by bending said second lug into said aperture. 1

6. A catch structure of the character described comprising, in combination, an inwardly dished supporting member having its edge reversely bent and adapted to abut the front face of the door with the dished member extending through an aperture in the door, said member also having a laterally extending portion lying against the inner face of the door, a unitary latch member and operator pivotally supported by said portion and extending through an aperture in said dished member, and means located generally opposite said portion for rigidly clamping the dished member to the door.

7. A catch structure of the character described comprising, in combination, an inwardly dished supporting member adapted to fit snugly in an aperture in the door and having its periphery reversely turned to abut against the front face of the door, said member having a portion extending from said periphery inwardly through a notch at the edge of the aperture and then bent to lie against the rear face of the door, a unitary latch member and operator pivotally supported by-said portion and extending through a slot in the dished member, and a pair of lugs spaced from said portion and from each other and extending from said periphery inwardly through notches at the edge of the aperture for bending into flat abutment with the rear face of the door to hold the catch in place.

8. A catch of the character described comprising, in combination, a supporting member comprising an inwardly dished portion provided with a slot, and an extending portion, and a spring-operated latch member and operator pivotally supported by said extending portion and extending through said slot, said latch membet: and operator being constructed to abut against one end of the slot to limit the movement thereof in one direction and having a shoulder positioned to abut the dished portion adjacent the slot to limit the movement thereof in the other direction.

9. A catch of the character described comprising, in combination, a supporting member having a flat portion lying against the inner face of the door and provided with a lug bent to a position perpendicular to the door, a latch member pivoted on said lug for movement in a plane perpendicular to the door, and a torsion spring mounted on the pivot and having one arm bearing against said flat portion, said latch member having a lug formed by cutting a pair of slits in the edge of the latch member with the lug bent at an angle to provide a notch to receive the other arm of the spring.

10. A catch structure of the character described comprising, in combination, a plate adapted to be spot Welded to the rear face of a door and having a central inwardly dished portion peripherally shaped to fit within an aperture within the door, said plate also having a portion extending toward the edge of the door, a latch member pivotally supported by said lastmentioned portion, and an operator having a readily attachable portion connected to said latch member whereby the supporting member may be painted at the same time as the door and the operator may be easily connected to the latch member thereafter.

11. A catch structure of the character described comprising, in combination, a plate adapted to be spot welded to the rear face of the door and having a central inwardly dished portion peripherally shaped to fit within an aperture in the door, a latch member pivotally supported by said plate at the rear of the door, said dished portion having a slot, and an operator having a portion extending through said slot and readily attachable to said latch member whereby the dished portion may be painted at the same time as the door and the operator may be easily connected to the latch member thereafter.

12. A catch structure of the character described comprising, in combination, an inwardly dished supporting member having its edge reversely bent and adapted to abut against the front face of the door with the dished member extending through an aperture in the door, said member also having a laterally extending portion lying against the inner face of the door, a unitary latch member and operator pivotally supported by said portion and extending through an aperture in said dished member, and readily bendable lug means on said dished member generally opposite said portion adapted to be bent into clamping engagement with the rear face of the door after the door is painted.

13. A catch structure of the character described comprising, in combination, a supporting plate adapted to be secured to the rear face of the door, a latch member pivotally supported by said plate for movement in a plane perpendicular to the door, said latch member being substantially flat sheet metal shaped to provide an arcuate portion, and an operator for said latch member having a substantially flat sheet metal arcuate portion positioned in overlapping relation with the arcuate portion of the latch member and secured thereto.

EARL BORCHERS.

CERTI FICATE OF C ORRECTION Patent No. 2,5OL|.,1LJ.LJ.. December 8, 19L ,2.

EARL BORCHERS- It is hereby certified that the name of the ssignee in the above nmnbered patent was erroneously described and specified as "American Cabinet Hardware Corporation" whereas said name should have been described and specified as -American Cabinet Hardware Corporation, Rockford, Illinois, of Rockford, Illinois, a corporation of Illinois, as shown by the record of assignments in this office; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correcti on therein that the same may conform to the record of the Case in the Patent Office. I

Signed and sealed this 6th day of June, A. D. 191 1 Leslie Frazer (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

